Pyrolytic apparatus for decomposing tires into gas, oil and other by products such as steel, carbon black and fiberous material.
Prior to this invention there has been provided pyrolytic apparatus having a metal vessl defining a reactor chamber for having tires decomposed therein (no lining in the vessel), a metal housing surrounding only the cylindrical wall and one end wall of the vessel to in conjunction therewith define a hot gas plenum chamber, a burner unit exterior of the housing for supplying hot combustion gases to the plenum chamber to heat the surrounded vessel surfaces and thereby heat the vessel interior, an exhaust opening to the plenum chamber, a condenser unit exterior of the vessel and housing for receiving vaporized oil and recovered gases from the reactor chamber, part of the recovered gases passing through the condenser being returned to the reactor chamber and part through a compressor and thence to a recovery gas storage tank, and an oil storage tank for receiving condensed oil from the condenser unit. With such prior apparatus the vessel is subjected to substantial stressing due to the high temperatures that it is heated to for decomposing the tires and subsequent cooling. Further conventional pyrolytic reactors require that the pyrolysis gas be pumped to a condenser which involves the provision of a separate condenser, piping and pumps and the resulting costs. Also conventional pyrolytic reactors must be purged with an inert gas to evacuate oxygen prior to the application of heat since there is a very slim chance that with a certain combination of reactor heat exchanger temperature, reactor load and reactor oxygen level the initial amount of air (oxygen) and gases generated will form an explosive mixture to result in a reactor explosion. Purging with inert gas on every loading cycle is expensive.